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Plant owners, operators and purchasing managers have a challenging job: They must make sure their plants run with little downtime, maximum safety and top efficiency. However, the reality is that their jobs often include many responsibilities beyond those criticalities.

It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what and when developments happened in the distribution industry prior to the internet, but based on conversations with past leaders, the commission model of selling started in the early 1960s. By the end of that decade, commission-based compensation models were the norm.

The distribution model of the past 50 years is changing rapidly thanks in part to the digital revolution. Joseph Nettemeyer, president and CEO of Valin Corporation, says that means distributors must find ways to add more value to solutions offered to customers. It also means they must become digital experts in communication and in the transfer of information.

The European Union’s (EU) New Legislative Framework (NLF), which was set forth in 2008, has sharpened the focus on importer and distributor responsibilities as they relate to importing or placing CE-marked (European Conformity) products on the market. This focus is reflected in the recasting of several EU directives that affect the valve and equipment industries, including Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 2014/068/EC and Equipment for Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX) Directive 2014/ 034/EC.

Plant engineers are saddled with an important task: outfitting their plants with the most reliable, high quality and cost-effective valves for their applications within their allotted budgets. But choosing the right valve is a complex process that has a major impact on plant operations as well as revenue.